The body of a missing 53-year-old special education teacher from Chicago was discovered in Lake Michigan on Monday, with a subsequent autopsy confirming the cause of death.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office reported on Tuesday that Linda Brown’s death was ruled a suicide by drowning.
Details beyond this verdict remain scarce.
Brown had been missing since January 3 when she was last seen in her blue 2021 Honda Civic near Bronzeville, about three miles from the White Sox’s Lehto Field. Her husband, Antwon, shared that they had watched a movie together and went to bed early, but when he woke up the next morning, she was gone.
“When I woke up at 8:45 a.m., she was gone,” he recounted, expressing his profound distress at her disappearance.
Concerned after several hours without any contact, Antwon reported her missing, prompting a police investigation.
Brown, who taught at Robert Healey Elementary School, was reportedly en route to a weekly acupuncture appointment when she vanished.
Authorities discovered her abandoned vehicle on January 7, not far from where she was last sighted. Surveillance footage later placed her in the vicinity of her car.
The family, dealing with the loss, was seen walking alone on a pedestrian bridge near the lake on the morning she was reported missing.
While the exact reasons behind her tragic decision remain unclear, Antwon mentioned that Linda had been on leave for mental health concerns and was expected back at work shortly.
He remarked that as her return to school approached, her anxiety and panic attacks intensified, contributing to her distress.
